One would argue that that is slightly paranoid. But it's not really paranoia when you feel that piercing gaze on you all the time, heavy with judgement, boring through your skin. Doc has something of a thick skin. It does not mean he is a stranger to what Malcolm is describing.

"I do not think it is a bad thing. The fear. Nobody truly knows what they are capable of until they find themselves at a crossroads in a situation they should not have ever been put in. It matters then what you decide to do. Now it is only a shadow of uncertainties and men you could or could not be, looming over you."